Liuliqiu laughed and said, "The officials in the Ministry of Revenue are all capable and have a lot of work to do. Even we are all too busy to handle it all. No matter who I recommend to follow the Marquis, I would be reluctant to let them go. However, the Marquis is busy with important matters ordered by the Emperor, so I have no choice but to reluctantly give up my favorite. Whoever the Marquis takes a fancy to, he can leave."
These words flattered him, praised his subordinates, and showed no favoritism whatsoever—truly slippery. No matter who the capital inspectors displeased, it wouldn't be blamed on him.
In reality, Liuliqiu was more than happy that Lord Gu would take away his trusted confidant.
Lord Gu laughed and said, "When I was fighting in the north, I dealt with the Ministry of Revenue quite a bit for money and supplies. After returning to the capital, I had to apply for merits for my soldiers and distribute pensions and rations, which took several months of dealing with the Ministry of Revenue. I know that if you ask me to hand over all your trusted confidants, you will definitely refuse. How about you choose one, and I will choose one?"
The two exchanged a smile, then stopped with pleasantries and directly decided on two candidates.
Before parting, Liuliqiu inquired about Lord Gu's health, saying in a tone of someone with experience, "Although Lord Gu is in his prime and highly regarded by the Emperor, he still needs to take good care of his health. There is no need for him to do everything personally. It would be better to leave the trivial matters to his subordinates. Lord Gu can also have someone keep an eye on them to prevent them from shirking their duties."
These were rare, candid words from Liuliqiu.
Lord Gu was startled and hurriedly said, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, sir. I will certainly keep your words in mind and never forget them."
Liuliqiu laughed and said, "It's not that simple. It's just that the Ministry of Revenue has a lot of trivial matters to deal with. I've been in charge for a few years and have gained some small insights."
Lord Gu said solemnly, "The insights gained are the most valuable."
"Hahaha," Liuliqiu laughed loudly, "Your Excellency is truly witty. People in our Ministry of Revenue love money the most. I get happy just hearing the word 'money'."
The two parted ways.
Lord Gu then went to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works to request personnel.
The Minister of Rites had a chance to visit Yuyuantan Park with Lord Gu, so he naturally had more goodwill towards Lord Gu and immediately selected two people without saying much.
Before parting, he asked, "Has your younger brother been writing poetry lately?"
Lord Gu said, “Minister, you may not know, but because of the great success of the poetry collection about Yuyuantan, my sixth brother now spends half his day reading poetry and the other half painting. There is a Mr. Songshan in the manor who is willing to give him guidance. A while ago, he even funded a poetry competition at the Imperial Academy. These past few days, there have been funerals at home, but he has not neglected his studies.”
"oh?"
When the Minister of Rites learned that Master Gu's wife had passed away, he sighed for a while and then asked Master Gu about the poetry contest.
Military officers and civil officials generally looked down on each other, and since Lord Gu had grown up and rarely stayed in the capital, they had even less to talk about. However, because of the matter of Lord Gu composing poetry, he and the Minister of Rites had something in common to talk about.
"As you know, my father-in-law is the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. When he saw that my sixth brother had published a collection of poems, he wanted to compile a collection of poems by students at the Imperial Academy who loved to write poetry. So my sixth brother funded a poetry contest at the Imperial Academy to select the best poems to be compiled into a book and sold. In my opinion, the first contest champion should be Mr. Songshan, although I prefer the poems of Young Master Nantang."
"Oh? This Mr. Songshan must be very talented. I heard the Marquis speak highly of him during our conversation."
"My father-in-law greatly admires Mr. Songshan. Mr. Songshan is currently residing at the Marquis's residence, and my brother-in-law and sixth brother often seek his advice. However, the poems of Young Master Nantang are also quite unique."
The Minister of Rites immediately became very interested in Mr. Songshan and the young master of Nantang, and repeatedly expressed that he would visit the Imperial Academy after he finished his busy work.
Before parting, the Minister of Rites instructed Lord Gu, "Lord Gu has endured hardship guarding the northern border. Although you have achieved unparalleled merit, you are bound to suffer some fatigue. It is best to think of things from a broader perspective. Even when the Ministry of Personnel conducted the imperial examinations, such matters were often thankless and arduous. Moreover, Lord Gu has been fighting for many years. To understand the intricacies of the matter will likely require a great deal of effort. Lord Gu should listen to the opinions of his subordinates and not overwork himself."
Lord Gu readily agreed.
The Ministry of Works was somewhat better off. Lord Gu had built cities in the northern frontier to defend against the Yelü clan, and had many dealings with the Ministry of Works on the city construction plans, so they were quite familiar with each other.
The Minister of Works was a sincere and taciturn man. After asking about Lord Gu's requirements, he took out a booklet and let Lord Gu choose for himself.
After making his selection, Lord Gu sat for a while and then left.
Before leaving, the Minister of Works did not give the same repeated instructions as the other ministers, but he hesitated several times before speaking to Lord Gu, and in the end he said nothing. His strange look was quite similar to that of the eunuch who announced the imperial decree yesterday.
This made Lord Gu very uncomfortable.
He already held a position in the Ministry of War, so the Ministry of Justice only needed to assign one person; it wouldn't require much effort.
The final stop, the Ministry of Personnel, was the main event.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the appointment, evaluation, promotion, conferment of honors, transfer and salary of civil officials. The capital inspection used to be the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel. The appointment of Lord Gu was tantamount to the emperor openly expressing his dissatisfaction with the capital inspection of the Ministry of Personnel.
But if we think about it more deeply, the Ministry of Personnel is only responsible for the evaluation of civil officials below the third rank in the capital. Officials above the third rank and close ministers of the emperor are evaluated by the emperor himself. Now the emperor has handed over all the evaluations to Lord Gu, regardless of whether they are civil or military officials or of any rank. Does this show the emperor's dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Personnel, or his dissatisfaction with the promotion and dismissal of civil officials? Or is he simply dissatisfied with all the civil officials?
This involves the livelihoods of many civil officials, as well as their integrity.
Lord Gu, with a heavy heart and a bit of courage, went to the Ministry of Personnel to find the Minister of Personnel.
As expected, I didn't find it.
Inside the signing room, everyone was busy processing documents and files with their heads down, and no one looked up at all.
After wandering around for a while, Lord Gu didn't know who to ask, and the Minister of Personnel wasn't in his office either.
This was clearly a show of force.
The Ministry of Personnel made its dislike for this person who had suddenly appeared and been assigned a post very clear.
Remembering his young wife's words, Lord Gu did not linger. He addressed an official leaning against the door in the signing room, saying, "I have been ordered to conduct an inspection in the capital. I have received the Emperor's decree to select personnel from various ministries to assist me. The personnel from the other ministries have already been selected. The Minister is not here, and I have matters to attend to and cannot wait. Please convey to the Minister that I have already come."
The official immediately stood up and said, "I understand. I am Lian, an assistant director of the Bureau of Examinations and Censors. I will certainly pass on the message, please rest assured, Your Excellency."
Lord Gu thanked the honest official and then rode his black horse, Ti Xue, back to his mansion to have dinner with his young wife.
Little did he know that his visit to the Six Ministries today was like throwing a stone the size of a bowl into a calm pond, causing a great deal of discussion among the ministries.
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